Welcome to the Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services (OCJS)/Ohio Department of Public Safety website, where in the month of April we recognize Child Abuse Prevention Month, Sexual Assault Awareness Month and National Crime Victims' Rights Week (observed April 6-12, 2014).

According to Ohio Information Based Reporting System, data collected for 2011 includes the following crime statistics:

Murder - 405

Sexual Assaults - 5,532 (which includes various types of sexual assault and rape)

Burglary/Robbery - 98,499

Menacing by Stalking - 1,249

Violation of a Protection Order - 6,622

Domestic Violence - 43,655

*The above stats are reported by approximately 508 agencies, covering 73% of the Ohio population.

If you are a crime victim or know someone who is a crime victim, you have rights. For details on these rights, click below:

The website for the month of April awareness dates was developed by the Ohio Family Violence Prevention Center with input by our Advisory Council. The Ohio Family Violence Prevention Center (FVPC) was established at OCJS in 1999. Prior to the Center, no similar body existed in Ohio. The Center serves as an information clearinghouse for public and private organizations as they provide assistance to victims. The Center offers a variety of services such as victim advocacy/assistance, providing technical assistance to local victim service providers, providing presentations on topics such as Teen Dating Violence, Sexual Violence and Intimate Partner Violence to schools, law enforcement and other community members. The Center and FVPC Advisory Council also conduct research on various family violence issues and its impact on communities.

Daily, the Ohio FVPC promotes awareness, intervention and prevention of domestic violence and family violence-related issues in Ohio in many ways, including being actively involved in the following organizations:

The Center also houses the Ohio Family Violence Prevention Advisory Council. The Council is where Ohio’s top experts in domestic and family violence intervention and prevention disciplines come together to consider and recommend improvements in state laws and policies. The mission of the Council is to provide guidance, encourage coordination and promote action by government, the private sector and citizens to understand, prevent and respond to domestic and family violence including teen dating, sexual and stalking violence regardless of the age, ethnicity or sexual orientation of the survivors. The FVPC Advisory Council will also work as allies of other programs and agencies as they seek to end other abuses in our community which include but are not limited to such crimes as human trafficking, elder abuse, and child abuse.

Membership on the Council is composed of a maximum of 40 members who are multi-disciplinary in representation. Members may include federal and state governments, local initiatives, and non-governmental agencies as well different demographic and geographic representatives. Currently the Council has four committees to address various topics of interest and concern to the Council. These committees are: Communications, Education & Training, Ohio Needs Assessment Implementation, and Statutes & Rules.

In 2011, the Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services provided approximately $6,862,396 in Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (FVPSA) grant funding to 153 programs. Additionally, OCJS provided $994,382 in Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) funding for 30 programs in fiscal year 2011. There will be $1.55 million distributed from the Family Violence Prevention Fund in 2012. OCJS awarded at least 183 projects grant funding for a total of $9,407,778 to courts, prosecuting attorneys offices, law enforcement agencies, court programs and various victim services programs in Ohio.

We hope you find the information useful. Please plan to take time this month to attend one of the many programs that will be held in honor of this month of awareness.

For more information about the Family Violence Prevention Center or the FVPC Advisory Council, contact Gary Heath, FVPC Program Director, at (614) 466-0306 or gmheath@dps.ohio.gov.